Tag Archives: River Fergus Walk and Cycleway

PROPOSALS to extend the River Fergus walkway to Clarecastle Quay have received a significant boost with the allocation of €50,000 to develop a plan for the link. The funding, announced by Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys, comes less than a year after the opening of the 1.5 kilometre paved cycling and walking route from the Quin Road in Ennis to the Clareabbey roundabout. In addition to the funding for the Fergus walkway, a further €121,000 has been allocated to six other recreational schemes around the county. These include €28,975 for the creation of a new walking trail adjacent to the Kilnamona GAA complex; €22,304 for the design and development of a lakeside amenity at Doon Lake, Broadford; €21,207 to link cycle routes from Kilrush Town Centre and along the nearby coastal roads; €20,102 towards the development of a community area at Cullaun Lake, Kilkishen; €15,508 for the development of a looped walking trail in Ennistymon and €13,036 to …

FEARS emergency services may have access difficulties due to cars parking in an “ad-hoc” nature at the Clareabbey end of the new River Fergus Walk and Cycleway has sparked calls for a review of the parking situation at the popular amenity. The risk of danger to children who have been seen “running straight onto the road” at the Quin Road side of the walk has also been highlighted. Councillor Paul Murphy, at a meeting of the Ennis Municipal District, called for a review of parking at Clareabbey saying, “This amenity is being used by huge volumes of people which is fantastic, but emergency services may have problems getting in if something isn’t done to sort out the ad-hoc nature of parking that currently exists.” Responding to the motion, Eamon O’Dea, Senior Executive Engineer, stated, “The Ennis Municipal District will examine the land ownership between the N85 and the Clareabbey access road on the Clareabbey Roundabout side of the railway line …

EXPENDITURE on the Ennis South Flood Relief Scheme increased dramatically from about €6 million to €14.4 million a new report has revealed. An examination of the considerable additional expenditure was outlined in the Statutory Audit Report to Clare County Council for December 31, 2020 at the April meeting of the local authority. This was due to emergency work that was necessary during the project and the urgent installation of a sheet pile wall along the full length of the originally proposed earthen embankment to protect 120 homes, numerous commercial properties and community buildings as such as St Flannan’s College. The original contract award for the earthen embankment was €5.1 million, while design emergency work required following the slippages cost €1.8 million. The cost of sheet pile design defence was €8.5 million, while the credit provision for the original works not completed was €1 million. The total revised cost of the contract was €14.4 million. After negotiating on a revised tender …

LOCALS and visitors to Ennis and Clarecastle can enjoy walking and cycling on a new riverside route thanks to the collaborative approach taken by Clare County Council and community groups. Last week Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys officially opened the River Fergus Walk and Cycleway, which came about after it was necessary to build an access road for a flood relief scheme. This new route runs from the R469 Quin Road in Ennis to the N85 Roundabout at Clareabbey along an area of significant recreational and visual amenity value. The paved walkway along the river is approximately 1.5km and provides a link between the two roads, resulting in a looped walk of 5.5km. The area is rich in heritage and biodiversity and the project is expected to generate significant tourism and educational benefits. Minister Humphreys also met representatives of Clarecastle Tidy Towns where she reviewed the streetscape enhancements that was funded by the Town and Villages Renewal funding from the …